Trailer hitch and bumper combined



Sept. 5, 1950 M. FREDERICK 2,521,356

TRAILER HITCH AND BUMPER COMBINED Filed Sept. 30, 1948 Inventor [2Martin L Frederick By 2mm Wfi/W I J 7 w I llllllllllllllllllll' l j i77/ Patented Sept. 5. 1950 TRA-ILER HI The present invention relates vto:a novel vehicleifmmrperzand anfaiccompanyingtrailer hitch wherein thetwo utilities are combined into a solid entity, thusproviding amiiquebumper and hitchacombinedi. I g g j t 3 1 f The'p'rincipal object of theinvention-is toirigidly mounta ball-type trailer hitchlonthe centralportionof'arearbumperwheresaid hitch is readilygavailable for reliablesatisfactory use.

TMOQGB" specifically, novelty :is' cpredicatedkupon ca I eombjnatinnibumper, and hitch Sci-the stated typ'e wherein-the, bumper ispmvided'with a notchsaid hitch being lined up with thenotch and said] I notchbeing concealed, when not in use, by a hingedly mountedcover plate orshield.

TATE- M N OFF CE H AND BUMe mooMm NED I Frederick, H r

' applicaitipn sep'tember 30, I948, seeia'rNnmams 4.01am. o1. 2120133:449 i i r 3. dees ate san .emb mg In carrying out the preferredembodiment of gitudinal reinforcing bar provided with an inte gralshelf-likeextension orlug, the'latter carryer the notch, when the hitchis not in use, thereby giving the bumper a conventional overallappearthe invention, the bumper is provided with a lonservesas astabilizer. and also as member it is to the 4 ll :that'lthe g 111%,Suhanti llr emimarm sh re, unattach d; said lugidenetedfby (the oral =11'; -';Ihe -lug-h as a hole. J2 a h0w e e-errto a commodate t readedstudle c theshanh portion tliej ba-ll-type; trailen hitch-l 5=g The. numeral1 .d? retain nemut The aforementioned shield or cover, which is suitablyornamental and designed to overlap the central area of .the bumper, isdenoted by the numeral l 1. It is somade as to close, when in closedposition-as shown in Figure 3, the stated notch 9.

, It is hingedly mounted on the lower edge portion Other objectsandadvantages will become more I readily apparent from'the followingdescription and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings: l

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view, with a portion broken away,vshowing a bumper and hitch as constructed in accordance with myinvention and showing the shield or cover swung down to open position. vI

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross section taken on the vertical line 2-4 ofFigure 1; looking in the .direction of thearrows.

Figure 3 is a view based on" Figure 2 showing the shield or' coverclosed.

of the bumper as at I8 and provided with additional spring clips whichconstitute keepers or detents l9 and these are releasably engageablewith the fixed detents l6 as shown in Figure 4, Thus, the coaction ofthe respective sets of detents serves to keep the shield in closedposition. When the hitch is in use, the cover is swung down as denotedin Figure 1 and also on a larger scale in Figure 2, When closed, ittakes the position shown in Figures 3 and 4.

'7 26, 21 and 28 properly shaped and related for se- Figure 4 is ahorizontal fragmentary sectional i I and elevational view taken on theplane of the line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of thearrows.

Figure 5is a perspective view showing a modified aspect of theinvention.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a suitablyconstructed and ornamented rear automobile or equivalent bumper andhaving bumper guards B; In accordance with the present invention,theupper central edge portion oi the bumper is cut-out to' provide aclearance cure anchorage on the frame (not-shown) of an automobile.Thismodified' fixture may be used instead of the brace and lugarrangement shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive. As a matter of fact,there will have to be variations in shape and sizes to adapt theinvention to fit on difierent makes of automobiles and equivalentvehicles, It may be'd'esira-ble also under certain conditions toincorporate a spring 29 (see Figures 2 and 3) in the hinge to normallyurge the cover to a downward retained position and to keep same fromswinging and rattling when the cover is open.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction withthe invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader ,toobtain a clear understanding and impression 3 of the alleged features ofmerit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of theinvention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts maybe resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made fromthe invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed asnew is: p v,

1. A combined hitch; and bumper assembly comprising an automobilebumper, said bumper diate opposite transverse ends with a clearancenotch, a reinforcing member horizontally. Welded to one side of saidbumper, a ball type trailer hitch removably mounted on said member, saidhitch being in alignment with said notch.

2. A combined hitch and bumper assembly comprising an automobile bumper,said bumper being provided in its upper edge and intermediate oppositetransverse ends with a clearance notch, a. reinforcing memberhorizontally 'Welded to one'side of said bumper, a ball-type trailerhitch removably mounted on said member, said hitch being inalignmentwithsaid notch, detent clips carried by said one side of the bumper andlocated on diametrically opposite sides of the notch, and a hingedlymounted cover plate for said notch, said cover plate being provided withdetent clips releasably engageable with the first named clips. g

'3. In a structure of the class shown and described, an automobilebumper provided intermediate its ends and in its upper edge portion witha clearance notch, a ball-type trailer hitch rigidly mounted on theforward side of said bumper and in alignment with said notch, and ahingedly mounted cover plate carried by said bumper and swingable to aposition to cover said notch and conceal said hitch.

, 4. In a structure of theclassshown and described, an automobile bumperprovided intermediate its ends and in its upper edge portion with aclearance notch, a ball-type trailer hitch rigidly mounted on theforward side of said bumper and in alignment with said notch, a hingedlymounted cover plate carried by said bumper and swingable to a positionto cover said notch and conceal said hitch, detent clips carried by saidbumperand located on opposite sides of the notch, and coacting detentclips carried by said cover plate and releasably engageable with saidfirst named clips.

5 MARTIN L. FREDERICK.

REFERENCES CI'I ED The following references are of record in the file ofthispatent: I V UNITED s'r 'rEs PATENTS- Number Name Date 0 2,151,920'Jandus et al .J. Mar. 28, 1939 2,342,907 I Stall Feb. 29, 19442,446,347 walkewiak A1193, 1948

